Finalists 2010
Cathy O'Toole
Cathy O'Toole is the CEO of Advance
Employment Inc, a Disability Employment Service (DES) specialising in assisting
people with mental health conditions to achieve employment. Cathy is the State President of the Qld
Alliance for Mental Health - the peak body for the Mental Health Community
Sector in Queensland.
As the CEO of Advance Employment Inc, Cathy strives to ensure that a positive and educative marketing technique is used to engage prospective employers by promoting people with mental health conditions as competent, capable and deserving of meaningful employment opportunities. Cathy leads a team of people who are passionate about reducing stigma and discrimination by focusing on a model of service that promotes and encourages recovery. Cathy welcomes the opportunity to work collaboratively with other services to ensure that people with mental health conditions are provided positive, holistic, recovery focused services that ensure a high quality of life.
Cathy is an experienced trainer with a unique background in management and education in the commercial, community based and government sectors. Cathy's skills and understanding of the challenges facing today's managers and employers are great. Her tertiary qualification in education, behavioural science and management provide theory and methods that with years of experience as a hands-on manager, has enabled her to develop contemporary workplace practices that the modern day manager can utilise to lead teams more effectively.
Glenda Woodford
Glenda
Woodford has been a part-owner and manager of BNG Sports for over six years. A
mother of two, Glenda is passionate about her role in the business ensuring their
business processes are effectively carried out to achieve their targets with the
utmost customer satisfaction.
Far from their impressive current location at Domain Central, BNG Sports
started as a home-based business, importing exclusive brands of bicycle accessories
from USA and France.
Now both Glenda and her husband Ben have moved into operating the business
full-time and in
2009 made the strategic move into a 600m2 retail store located at Domain
Central. Along with being a point of difference retailer, BNG Sports is a
wholesaler to a number of retailers nationwide.
Following on from recent achievements, with Ben taking the prestige of the 2010 Townsville Chamber of Commerce Young Business Person of the Year Award, Glenda shared in further success with the business in the following month being ranked No. 1 Merida Bicycle dealer out of 200 dealers nationwide.
Glenda enjoys attending international industry tradeshows throughout the USA and Europe and her passion for the industry continues to be fostered through the successful development of the BNG Sports brand.
Kelly May
Kelly May, a
Principal Consultant with AECOM, established the
communication and community section for their North Queensland business in late
2007. With 15 years
experience, Kelly has a background in communication, consultation and project
management roles across a broad range of sectors coupled with extensive
experience in political and government environments. The highlight of Kelly's
work has been the development and delivery of positive outcomes for the
community and stakeholders in key private and public infrastructure projects
throughout North Queensland.
Kelly's passion for her work stems from the daily opportunities to work with and mentor other professionals in her discipline and sharing the successes achieved through great team work with her clients and colleagues. Kelly continues to adopt an innovative and proactive approach towards her work for both external and internal clients and the North Queensland communication and community team continues to grow under her leadership.
Kirsten Gadsby
Kirsten Gadsby is Founding Director of BIZRICH -
Townsville's only combined business publishing, coaching, training and sales firm. With hundreds of hours in attending and
facilitating personal development workshops, training, mentoring and
networking, Kirsten has developed a ‘win-win' attitude and optimism balanced
with a healthy dose of excellent business acumen. Over the past five years she has been trained in the United
States as an International Business Coach, and worked closely with
international coaches, hundreds of clients in varying industries and the best
facilitators in Australia who have run their own business or have experience in
running a business and teams.
As Founding Director of BIZRICH, Kirsten's primary role involves business development, planning, directing and managing the numbers, the people, and the clock. More specifically, her role is to manage the implementation and achievement of outcomes regarding consultants, sales activities and strategies, marketing and sales promotions, and customer service initiatives.
As publisher and Editor of Zoom in Business Magazine in Townsville, Kirsten is the driver of each edition, and employs a team of journalists, graphic designers and sales consultants. She enjoys keeping the business community connected through affordable, practical and innovative quarterly print media.
Kirsten's core strengths are promoting, publishing and writing, networking, communicating, leading combined with discipline, determination, accountability and a great deal of common-sense.
Kylie Lavers
Kylie Lavers has not
always been a psychologist. She initially joined the army at the age of 16 to
do a diesel mechanics apprenticeship. She successfully finished her apprenticeship
and served 12 and-a-half years. During this period, while working full-time,
she also completed a degree in psychology, eventually deciding to take her long
service leave and see what civilian life as a psychologist offered.
Kylie took up her internship as a psychologist with the Department of Corrective Services at the Stuart Prison in Townsville. From there she moved through a number of workplaces including James Cook University Careers Counselling and Employment Service, Queensland Rail Organisational Health and Wellbeing Unit, Queensland Health Community Mental Health and the Townsville Hospital Pain Management Clinic.
After eight years in various government departments, Kylie again took long service leave to start her business Psylution Worx in September 2008. In September 2009 she opened Psylution Worx Mount Isa and is currently planning her third Psylution Worx in Grafton NSW. In September 2010 she launched the Townsville Memory Clinic through her Psylution Worx Townsville Practice.
Kylie has also recently launched another business' Psylutions for Learning' with her sister Laurene Campbell. Psylutions for Learning is an internet-based business which sells products for children with pervasive developmental disorders and learning difficulties.
Megan Flux
Megan Flux, 34 is the Director of First Things First
Wellness Centre. Megan commenced her journey into the wellness industry five
years ago as sales and marketing manager, and then progressed onto general
manager a short time later before purchasing the business outright in 2010.
Prior to this Megan worked predominately in media in sales at radio, newspaper
and in print media with DUO Magazine.
Megan considers herself a work in progress and is continually trying to outdo or achieve a new goal and grow her business. Megan has completed certificates as a weight loss consultant, and as an endermologie therapist.
First Things First Wellness Centre offers clients the space to relax, rejuvenate and being their journey to complete wellness. Megan enjoys being able to be part of a client's journey and gets enormous satisfaction from seeing clients reach their goals and being able to assist them to achieve ultimate wellness from the extensive range of services. Megan loves being in an industry where see gets to witness a fundamental change; seeing clients lose weight, gain confidence, feel amazing or just be pain-free.
Megan attributes a lot of her success in the wellness industry to her mentor Tracey Carmichael who provided her with fantastic opportunities, supported and encouraged her and enabled her to spread her wings and grow.
Natasha Whiteside
Commencing operations in 2007, the driving concept for Vista's Managing
Director Natasha Whiteside was to offer a point-of-difference to residential
owners and investors through truly personalised and attentive building services.
Vista received immediate industry recognition and was awarded two Master Builders Awards (MBA) less than 12 months into operation.
Natasha Whiteside holds 20 years experience in sales and marketing management. Her passion for home design was inspired with her first private property refurbishment in the late 90s. Within 12 months in the commercial real estate arena, Natasha was managing a sales team of 10 staff across North Queensland and was responsible for a forecast sales budget of $35,000,000 and managed a land bank worth $11,000,000.
As managing Director for Vista Homes & Designs, Natasha Whiteside overseas sales and marketing, operations, commercial practices, forecasting and outcomes, and continuous improvement activities inside the business.
Natasha is currently studying to achieve a Certificate IV in Building and Construction and expects to be qualified by mid 2012.
The inception of Vista Homes & Designs and its subsequent success and growth has been Natasha's greatest achievement to date, with the business achieving a $7 million annual turnover in just three years and four Masters Builders Awards in the same period.
Rosana Kersh
Professional photographer
Rosana Kersh believes it is essential to have good communication with her
client in order to get the right shots. Growing up in the far outback of
Queensland on a sheep and cattle station, Rosana was educated by School of the
Air and, without a television, her childhood was filled with doing creative
things. After boarding school at Brisbane and Charters Towers, Rosana graduated
with a Diploma in Commercial Art and Photography from James Cook University.
To pay her way through a private college in order to further her design and photography skills, Rosana worked at BHP Cannington mine in Western Queensland, as a cleaner and bus driver. After three years studying and working in Sydney, Rosana then travelled overseas to the USA and Europe.
Now back living in Townsville, Rosana has thrown herself wholeheartedly into her passion of photography, doing a mix of fashion and hair shoots along with other commercial photography, plus family portraits, weddings and children's photos.
It is her continual goal to get better and better and her favourite quote is: ‘What is your favourite photo? The one I'll take tomorrow."
Roslyn Dalton
Roslyn Dalton was born and raised in Queensland, completed
her chemistry studies at Central QLD University in Rockhampton and then
travelled; living and working in various parts of Australia and travelling to
Europe and Asia with her work. Prior
to joining QLD Nickel in 2003, Roslyn worked at Olympic Dam in South Australia,
McArthur River Mine in the Northern Territory, Saraji Coal Mine in QLD and in a
corporate role in Brisbane.
Roslyn currently works at QLD Nickel as the Senior Operations Improvement Superintendent leading a team of process engineers, chemists and project leaders. Roslyn has worked in most areas on the QLD Nickel site and regularly acts in the Operations Manager role. Encompassing process and business improvements both within the refinery and final products department and across site, the role is deliberately designed to identify and take advantage of opportunities for improvements as they are identified.
Roslyn is a strong supporter of effective support systems for people in leadership positions and has participated in numerous coaching and mentoring programs throughout the region aimed at supervisors, potential supervisors and females. She is a strong driver of change and works to challenge people's views so they can see possibilities in the future rather than just the current status quo.
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